DES MOINES, Iowa –– An Iowa appellate court has reversed a multi-million asbestos verdict, ordering a new trial in the matter on grounds that statements made by plaintiff’s counsel during closing arguments violated a prior trial court order.

In the April 19 order, the Iowa Court of Appeals opined that “the continuous disregard for the court’s rulings could not have been ‘a slip of the tongue’ and was not an isolated incident.”

The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of Larry Kinseth, contending that the decedent’s work in the heating and plumbing industry required him to tear out old boilers ...